The Beansprout Nanny
by Darkbrokenreaper
Summary: AU The Head of Mugen Co. is in need of a nanny and Allen is enlisted for the job. In between babysitting two rambunctious little twins, fending off an eight-year-old stalker, and his budding feelings for his boss, Allen has his hands full! Yullen
1. The Beansprouty Nanny

**A/N: I've always wanted to do one of these stories and I haven't seen a nanny fic for the D. gray-man fandom so I thought, let's make it Yullen! So this contains a lot of cute fluff and humor. I hope you enjoy!**

**Warning: Kanda is OOC. A. Lot. He's a father in this story so he's bound to show random bouts of OOC-ness for his children. You have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I love Kanda and I would to anything to make him mine but apparently, my love doesn't stretch that far.**

Chapter 1: The Beansprout-y Nanny

"Yuu-papa!" Lavi chirped brightly, running into his father's arms. "Lenalee, Yuu-papa is home!"

"Daddy!" Lenalee shouted joyfully, following after Lavi. She crashed into Kanda's legs with a "whumph!'' and quickly unwrapped her arms from around his leg. She jumped up and down, holding her hands up to be carried. "Up, up!"

Kanda set his briefcase down and scooped both of his children into his arms. Lenalee and Lavi giggled as they were bounced by the sudden change in elevation.

"Welcome home!" both of them squealed as Kanda nuzzled their cheeks affectionately.

"I thought I told you not to call me by my first name, little rabbit," Kanda said, glaring half-heartedly at Lavi.

"It's because I love you!" Lavi declared with all the conviction a five-year-old could muster. His small hands circled around his father's neck.

"Daddy, daddy!" Lenalee chimed in, tugging lightly at Kanda's shirt. "I want a hug too!"

Kanda leaned closer to her and allowed his little girl to encircle his neck from the other side. She snuggled her face into his neck as a woman stormed from the living room.

"That's it, you disgusting little brats!" the nanny shouted, sending Lenalee and Lavi a hateful glare. Her blonde hair was covered with soap and scraps of food and her clothing was smeared with jelly and pudding. Her face was dyed an odd shade of tomato red, and her fury matched her current skin tone.

Kanda could feel Lavi shake with hidden laughter. He knew that Lavi and Lenalee had most likely rigged the dishwasher to explode. Lavi was a genius who schemed of every possible prank for their nannies and Lenalee, despite her shy demeanor around everyone except a select few, was the one who carried out the plans her brother concocted. Secretly, Kanda was glad that Lavi and Lenalee were so mischievous. It was his screening process for the nannies that took up the job for babysitting his two children. If she couldn't take care of herself from two five year-olds, then she certainly wasn't qualified to take care of them.

It was also damn good amusement for him. He set down Lenalee and Lavi. They ran and hid behind his legs, peeking out behind them with twin grins.

She stared back at Kanda with a look of surprise and shock. "Oh, Kanda-san! I didn't know you were here!" Her face adopted a coy look and she discreetly tried to fix her clothing and her hair. "I was just going to send the children to bed."

A man in a tuxedo suit came in. He held a deflated ball, the violet one that Kanda had bought Lenalee for her birthday. By the looks of it, the ball looked as if it had been punctured by a knife. Kanda raised an eyebrow at him.

"Master Kanda," Marie, the butler greeted with a cordial bow. "Welcome home."

Kanda nodded in acknowledge to Marie before his glare centered back to the nanny who fidgeted under his gaze.

_Pathetic._ Kanda thought in his head as he openly sneered at her.

"Kanda-san, I can explain," the nanny started but Kanda's icy glare silenced her.

"You're fired," Kanda said sharply. "Get out of my house before I call security. It's obvious that you can't take care of yourself let alone my children."

"But I-," the nanny began.

"Get. Out," Kanda interrupted in a harsh voice. The nanny opened her mouth as if to protest again but then shut it. She composed herself as much dignity as she could (which was not that dignified considering that jelly and pudding still dripped around her), turning her nose up with an air of indifference and left the mansion.

"Bye bye!" Lavi laughed and waved smugly. When the doors closed, Lavi burst into conversation, "That was so funny, Lenalee! Did you see her face? And her clothes? She was dripping all over the floor too!"

"It was super funny!" Lenalee exclaimed, clapping her hands joyfully.

Kanda watched his beloved children babble on and on about their latest successful prank. He knelt down until he was eye level with them.

"Lavi, Lenalee," Kanda said. "You shouldn't play pranks on your nannies. It makes for a hell of a time trying to find a new nanny for you two."

"But she popped Lenalee's ball!" Lavi protested. "She pulled a knife from the kitchen and told us we couldn't play anymore because we were noisy and then popped the ball with it!"

Kanda twitched and he felt himself grow angry. _A knife?_ Holding such a dangerous object in front of his children was unacceptable and he was glad that Lavi and Lenalee had taken care of it by themselves. He knew that he was raising two children who would grow up to be strong, capable people. But he still had to act like a parent in these situations. He put his hands over Lavi's and Lenalee's head in a comforting gesture.

"You still shouldn't do that," Kanda explained patiently. "Now promise me that you won't play pranks on nannies again."

"We promise Yuu-papa," Lavi replied innocently but Kanda could see Lavi and Lenalee cross their fingers behind their backs. Kanda sighed. That would the best he would get out of them.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" Kanda asked.

"Spaghetti!" Lenalee shouted. At the same time Lavi had shouted, "Cake!"

Kanda allowed a rare smile cross his face. He only smiled around his two children. "Spaghetti and cake it is."

In his mind, he made a note to find a new nanny by tomorrow. Come to think of it, hadn't Cross, that damn drunkard from the Black Order Company, recommend someone? As much as he hated Cross for his notorious womanizing ways and reckless spending, the man had been useful when it came to hiring people who did well in their jobs and inventing new gadgets that were big sellers in their corporation. He vaguely recalled a conversation where the womanizer had offered up his apprentice as the perfect nanny.

He'd have to call him up, after making dinner for his two angels.

* * *

"What?" Allen asked, flabbergasted. He stopped washing the dishes momentarily and the soapy plate in his hand slipped back into the sink without notice despite the loud crash that it made.

Cross frowned when he heard the dish break as it clattered in the sink. The brat would pay for that after the discussion.

"You'll be working as a nanny for the Mugen Company's head CEO," Cross repeated. He frowned more deeply; he hated repeating himself especially for this worthless brat.

Allen seemed oblivious to the blatant annoyed look that Cross was giving him. His chrome-plated eyes widened with confusion.

"A-a nanny?" Allen asked incredulously. Cross nodded slowly, cursing Allen's slow wits. He stared at the empty wine glass in his hands, wishing that it was filled and that he was drunk when he was talking to his apprentice. He always felt this way when talking to Allen. The idiot could be so dense sometimes that Cross had to physically beat sense into him with a hammer.

"The fucking long-haired brat has two bratlings," Cross responded. "Twins; a boy and a girl. They've been turning away every single nanny since they were old enough to walk." He swilled the empty glass, willing it to fill up. "Which is why the Kanda brat is offering a lot of money for anyone to babysit his kidlets."

"I won't do it," Allen deadpanned. He brushed his white hair behind his ears and turned back to washing the dishes.

Cross felt anger slowly build up. His hand reached for the handy hammer that he kept strapped to his belt. It had been there ever since he had taken Allen in and had never left him.

"Why the hell not?" Cross asked, a threat lacing his words. "It pays good money and if you accept it, you won't have to do any side jobs. You get to live there too, all expenses paid so you won't have to live in this shithole anymore."

"You just want me out of the house!" Allen accused, spinning around quickly. He dried his hands and pulled a bottle of wine from the top cabinet.

"What gave it away?" Cross sneered. "Accept the job or I'll fucking blow your head to pieces."

Allen stiffened. He was used to the threats and he knew that Cross, being the sadistic master that he was, would follow through with that threat.

"I don't work well with children!" Allen protested. He quieted and whispered, "They'll think I'm disgusting."

Allen sat down and popped open the wine. He stared somberly at the liquid; people avoided cursed, ugly children like him so he was used to the disgusted faces and the curious yet mean stares. When he was little, he was picked on for his weird arm and it made him so miserable as a child. Seeing children sneer at his odd appearance was like reliving that childhood over and over again on their young faces. The hate, the scorn, and the humiliation was too much for Allen to see on children let alone adults so Allen tried his best to hide his arm with gloves.

"They don't need to love you," Cross quipped as he held his wine glass out. Allen dutifully poured him a glass. "They just need a person who won't throw herself at the Kanda brat's feet or fawn over his children in an attempt to get closer to him. Although-" Cross took a sip of the wine and sighed, "-God knows why anyone would like the ill-tempered bastard."

"But-," Allen began.

"You start working tomorrow," Cross cut in. "Someone will come pick you up and take you there. And don't you dare think of quitting. I don't want to see your ugly face here anymore so you better keep that job."

Allen groaned and slammed his head into his arms. With his face in his arms, he didn't see Cross's face spread into a wry smile.

* * *

"So this is the Kanda mansion," Allen mused. He stared with awe at the huge expanse of the property. The mansion was a soothing white color with blue tones. There was a large yard in front complete with a bubbling fountain and a myriad of flowers. The whole scene was so picturesque that it seemed to come from the fairytales that Mana had read to him when he was little.

"Mister Walker," Toma, the chauffeur, asked. "We have arrived."

As if Toma really needed to say anything.

The car stopped in front of the house and Allen walked up to the front gate. Up close, the wooden double doors were bigger than he had expected and it intimidated him.

Taking a deep breath, he rang the door bell. The door opened without a creak despite their size and a man with headphones dressed in a suit stepped out.

"Welcome, Mister Walker," the man whom Allen assumed was the butler smiled politely. "We've been expecting you. I'm Marie Noise, the Kanda family's butler." Allen smiled back nervously.

"G-Good morning," Allen stuttered, bowing slightly. He licked his dry lips, cursing his sudden panic. "I'm here for the position of nanny."

A look that Allen could decipher passed through Marie's face but it was gone as quickly as it came. Marie smiled mysteriously and ushered Allen in.

"Please come in and make yourself at home," Marie said. "The children will be coming in soon." He led Allen through marble corridors decorated with soft plush rugs and into a large sitting room filled with elegant yet modern furniture. Most of it was Oriental, Allen noted. On one wall, there was a fireplace and mantle.

Pictures of two children and an adult decorated the mantle as well as an odd-looking hourglass that had a blossoming lotus in it. In every picture, Allen could see the faces of smiling children and the father. Allen looked at the pictures yearningly. They looked so perfect.

Two children, a redheaded boy with emerald eyes and a girl with violet eyes and pigtails ran into the room. The boy was leading the way and the girl, holding a green ball in her hands, trotted after him merrily.

"The nanny's here, the nanny's here," both of them sang, skipping around the seat where Allen was. Allen watched with conspicuous awe on his face.

_They're so beautiful. _Allen thought.

"Here they are," Marie smiled. The children gathered around Marie's legs, peeking at Allen shyly. Marie put a hand behind each of their backs and gently pushed them forward. They stumbled a bit before running and clutching onto Allen's dress pants. Allen jumped from the unexpected movement and held both of their bodies close so they wouldn't fall.

"I'll leave you to get acquainted with and take care of the children," Marie explained. "There is a list on the refrigerator in the kitchen of what needs to be done today. Emergency numbers are also on there in case anything happens. Food is prepared on the kitchen table for breakfast and lunch. I will return in the afternoon to assist with dinner. The Master Kanda might be returning home early today so please do not be alarmed when you see him. Your room is next to the children's, on the left. All of your belongings have been moved in already so please make yourself at home."

"Okay," Allen said and nodded. Truthfully, he was having a hard time processing all the information. He was afraid he was going to forget something and get fired. Then he'd have to face Cross and the hammer. Memories of the tool connecting with his head made him wince in pain. "Have a safe trip, Mr. Marie."

"Bye Marie!" Lavi waved.

"Bye Marie!" Lenalee echoed, waving her hand frantically.

Marie said his goodbyes, hugging each other the children and took a pair of car keys from a rack that contained at least five sets of keys. As soon as they heard the door close, Lavi and Lenalee turned to their new nanny. Allen felt his heart pound when he saw violet and emerald eyes stare at him with wonder. He knew that they were staring at his scar and his pale hair. He saw the silent judgment in their eyes and for a second, panic showed on his face.

He shouldn't be doing this. He wasn't kidding when he said he literally had no experience with children. As a baby, he had been adopted by Mana, his beloved foster father, and he lived with him, happy as a child could be. His odd appearance made other children stay away though, depriving him of a normal childhood. When Mana died and he was taken in by Cross, his interaction with people in general, except for jobs and gambling, became nonexistent.

Twin grins broke out on Lenalee's and Lavi's face. Suddenly, the fear dissipated and Allen found himself smiling too.

"I'm Lavi!" he pointed at himself.

"I'm Lenalee," she grinned shyly. Her hand took her brother's in a tight grasp, Allen noticed. She must be the more withdrawn twin of the two.

Allen let out a quiet sigh of relief; it seemed that he was accepted.

"I'm Allen Walker but you can call me Allen if you want," he said brightly. There was a tense silence after that and Allen didn't know what to do.

"Are you our new nanny, Allen-nanny?" Lavi asked. Allen nodded quickly.

"I guess I am."

Allen glanced at the clock in the room and stood up. Might as well get the day started.

"Time for breakfast," Allen announced. Automatically, both children tensed and their faces welled up. The familiar panic settled in Allen again and he wondered briefly if he had upset them.

"We don't want breakfast," Lavi sulked petulantly. "Breakfast is for sissies."

"Yeah, sissies," Lenalee echoed after her brother. She stared at the ball in her hands. "I want to play outside," she declared, holding the ball up.

Allen felt sweat coat the back of his neck and ran his hands through his hair. They were going to be a handful.

"Well," Allen started. He floundered with compromises in his mind. He was really bad with children. "How about we have breakfast then I can take you outside to play for the rest of the afternoon?"

Again, there was the silent communication that Allen didn't understand.

"Okay," Lavi and Lenalee nodded in sync.

"Would you please take me to the kitchen?" Allen asked, taking Lavi's hand. Lavi nodded and lead the way. Another hand pulled at his free hand and stopped him. Lavi looked at Lenalee and then dropped Allen's hand with a shrug. He continued on without them.

"Allen," Lenalee pleaded, holding her free hand up to him. He was confused with the motion. It finally occurred to him that Lenalee wanted to be carried and he smiled, pulling the girl up until she rested comfortably on his hip. Lenalee looked surprised but then giggled and snuggled her face into his shoulder.

"Let's go find your brother," Allen murmured, setting off in the direction where Lavi went.

The kitchen was just as marvelous as the rest of the house. It was spotless, filled with state-of-the-art appliances, and more food than Allen had seen in his life.

Allen looked at the porridge that was set out for them. It looked gooey, lumpy, and not at all appetizing. There were also a few dishes of pickled vegetables and fish, and they did not look appealing to a five year-old either.

_No wonder these children don't like breakfast._ Allen thought. He certainly wasn't going to eat that so he saw no point in trying to force the children to eat it.

Racking his brain, he thought of his favorite breakfast food from his childhood. He thought back to Mana, his foster father, and the mornings that he spent with him.

"Do you guys want to make pancakes instead?" Allen asked, kneeling down to their height.

Lenalee and Lavi looked awed. Most nannies would demand them to eat the breakfast set out for them or skip breakfast altogether and let them have their way.

"Ummm... Allen-nanny?" Lavi asked hesitantly. "What are pancakes?"

_Oh!_ Allen thought. _Their father is Japanese. They probably haven't had a lot American food._

"They're American flat cakes," Allen replied. He struggled with describing them, "Umm... they're flat sheets of spongy dough and umm... they taste really good with maple syrup and butter."

Lenalee and Lavi looked incredulous. They stared at each other with skeptical looks and then back at Allen who waited patiently for them with a gentle smile.

"Yu-papa said that American food is only fit for back alley scum and dogs," Lavi mildly commented, hoping to crush their nanny's hope of getting to know them.

Allen felt his eye twitch. What had their father taught these children? Allen sighed and put his hands on his hips.

"Well, your father probably hasn't tried pancakes before!" Allen said with conviction. "We'll try pancakes first but if you don't like them, we can try something else."

Again, silent judgment passed between the two. Immediately, Lavi clung onto Allen's leg, earning an 'oof' from Allen.

"Yeah!" Lavi answered for them. "Pancakes! I want to try!"

He scurried into some corridor where Allen assumed they kept the flour and other food items.

"I want to help," Lenalee answered, pulling shyly on Allen's pant legs. Allen beamed down on her and took her small hand in his.

"Would you like to lead me to the pantry then?" Allen asked with a soft smile on his face. Lenalee nodded and ushered him near large, double doors.

Lavi and Lenalee both stood at the edge of the door and Allen assumed that they weren't allowed inside.

He found a pair of little purple and green aprons that were crisp and new, showing barely any use. Lenalee and Lavi squirmed excitedly as he helped them put the aprons on. He found another dark blue apron of normal size for himself and went through the task of gathering ingredients.

Lenalee and Lavi held out their arms obediently, waiting for Allen to load ingredients into them before running back to the kitchen to set them down and then hurrying back again.

Allen followed them into the kitchen and rummaged in the fridge for anything worth using while Lenalee and Lavi pulled out a bowl from the cupboard. Allen found it cute how it took both their combined efforts to lift the huge mixing bowl onto the table.

"How about we make blueberry pancakes?" Allen asked, pulling out a small carton of said item from the refrigerator.

"Yeah!" Lenalee and Lavi cheered.

They spent the afternoon making pancakes. Allen was awed with the children's willingness to participate. They were so adorable and helped him whenever he needed. Seeing their faces covered with flour and eggs was so endearing. He was at ease with the kids and all the nervousness and the panic from before seemed silly now.

_So this is what it's like to be with other kids. _Allen thought with a smile.

He was careful to keep the children away from the stove as he cooked the pancakes. Watching them 'ooh' and 'aah' whenever he flipped a pancake high in the air made him giggle.

"These are nummy," Lavi said, taking another bite of his honey-coated pancakes. Allen hadn't been able to find maple syrup and substituted honey instead. The twins enjoyed them thoroughly, asking for seconds and thirds. Allen himself had engulfed half the pancakes they made much to the fascination of Lavi (and Lenalee who was too polite and shy to show it).

"You've got honey on your cheek," Allen said gently, taking out a handkerchief and rubbing Lavi's cheek clean.

Silent judgment was passed between the two again.

"Allen, we want you to stay forever," Lenalee mumbled. Her face turned a bright shade of pink and she busied herself with eating the rest of her pancake.

Allen grinned. She was so adorable! "I will. Your father hired me as the nanny after all."

"No, Allen-nanny," Lavi clarified, staring him with piercing green eyes. "We want you to be our new mommy."

Allen choked on the pancake he was eating, and groped frantically at the air when it stayed lodged in his throat.

**tbc?**

**A/N: Love it? Hate it? Continue it? Please review!**


	2. Our Nanny is a!

**A/N: The word kidlets and bratlings came from my 9th grade teacher who is really young and doesn't have kids of her own. She hates bodily functions that much so she calls us her kidlets instead.**

**And damn, that's a lot of reviews! I didn't think that my story would be this popular! I tried really hard to update so I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I would love for Kanda to be my boyfriend/lover/friend but Allen has already filled in that role and I would hate to see them apart.**

Chapter 2: Our New Nanny is a…!

Allen had fallen out of his chair and had to suffer little fists beating incessantly on his chest in an attempt to dislodge the pancake stuck in his throat.

"Live, Allen-nanny!" Lavi shouted like the paramedics he saw on tv. He punched his fists into Allen's chest just like them too for added effect. "Live!"

Lenalee started crying as she assisted Lavi in beating Allen's chest. "Live, Allen!"

The pancake had long gone down his throat and Allen was trying frantically to catch his breath but as each thump beat down, he felt the oxygen that he desperately needed be pushed out from him.

"S-Stop!" Allen huffed, groping the air urgently. "STOP!"

"He's... alive!" Lavi cackled like that one movie he saw on tv.

"Yay, he's alive!" Lenalee shouted joyfully, throwing her little arms into the air in celebration.

Allen sat up and took a few precious deep breaths. His head swam from the lack of air and he allowed himself a few moments before turning back to expectant faces.

"Allen-nanny, why did you choke?" Lavi asked innocently with heartrendingly sad green eyes. "Do you not want to be our new mommy? Yu-papa would love you because me and Lenalee love you."

Lenalee nodded furiously. "Daddy would love you for sure!"

Allen thought it was sweet how accepting they were of him. They were so beautiful and kind; their father must be just as caring and compassionate to raise such lovely children. He secretly envied them because of his lost childhood. He would never know what it would be like to be a true child but taking care of the twins made him relive the happier moments of his own past, ones without Cross.

"I'm sorry but I don't think that I can be your mommy," Allen said serenely, patting their hair. "There must be someone out there better than me." _Like a woman,_ Allen said in his mind. "So how about I umm… help you find a better mommy?"

He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Lavi and Lenalee sucked in their breaths and their eyes widened as if they had been stabbed.

_Holy shit, Allen Walker,_ he thought anxiously. _What the hell are you getting yourself into?_

"Why?" Lavi inquired desperately, grabbing Allen's shirt front. "Allen-nanny is the perfect mommy! You care about us right?"

Expectant violet and emerald eyes stared up at him. His will crumbled under their gaze. In a matter of hours, Allen felt himself being pulled in by their adorable faces. He knew he could never say 'no' to them now.

"I do, I do," Allen appeased, trying hard to reason with them, "But you've only known me for a few hours. Maybe in the future, you'll want a better mommy."

Lenalee and Lavi gave him a look of pure horror as if he had said blasphemy. There was a long silence and Allen shrunk under their gaze.

"Do you hate us because we're not perfect?" Lavi asked despondently, ignoring Allen's explanation.

"We're sorry if we played pranks on the mean lady who popped my ball!" Lenalee wailed. Lavi caught on quickly and followed with his own declaration.

"I'm sorry for making the dishwasher machine explode!" Lavi shouted. And at once, Lenalee and Lavi began confessing every little sin they could think of. Allen felt his eye twitch as the children went into detail about every trick they had pulled against their nannies. He was amazed at how creative they were in their plans of getting rid of their nannies.

"I'm sorry that I put bubblegum in nanny number twenty-seven's hair!" Lavi screamed.

_This is quite enough_, Allen sighed internally, rubbing his temples.

"Lavi, Lenalee," Allen hushed. When they ignored him and continued their tirade, he tried again. "Lavi, Lenalee!" They continued to ignore him. By now, Lenalee was in tears and Lavi's cheeks had turned bright red with the effort of reciting every single wrongdoing. Allen sighed and quickly pulled both children into a hug. "Calm down," Allen whispered. The fact that Allen had hugged them and talked to them quietly seemed to have a profound effect on the twins. Immediately, they stopped and stared at him with wonder.

Lenalee put her thumb in her mouth, a gesture she did after crying or when she was confused. Lavi's gaze went from Lenalee to Allen and back to Lenalee again. No one had been able to calm her down as quickly as Allen except for their father and sometimes, Marie.

Allen hugged Lenalee and Lavi a little closer and gave them each a soft gaze. Their attention stood riveted on Allen.

"I don't hate you and it's not because you're not perfect," Allen murmured in the same soothing voice. "It's because I'm not the perfect mother. You little children deserve someone better. So please stop crying."

"But you are the perfect mommy!" Lenalee insisted, pulling her thumb from her mouth and tugging his shirt as if to keep him grounded to her.

"Yeah, yeah!" Lavi affirmed, tugging the other side of his shirt. "You make us pancakes, and you are nice to us, and you're so pretty! Like Cinderella in that movie!"

The last part came out as odd to Allen. No one had called him pretty before. He was called adorable yes, but never pretty. And he had never been compared to Disney Princesses either. A thought struck Allen and his chrome-plated eyes widened.

"Wait, you children do know that I'm male, right?" Allen asked uncertainly. Blank, curious stares answered him. He felt a lump form in his throat.

"What does 'male' mean?" Lenalee piped up with large violet eyes.

_Please don't tell me... _Allen begged mentally.

"It means that I'm a man," Allen explained patiently. In his mind, he desperately held on to his last threads of masculinity.

Lenalee's and Lavi's eyes widened. Allen felt his stomach sink in dread. No freaking way.

"EH?" they shouted in disbelief. It was appalling how quickly Allen felt all his manly pride fall before him.

Lavi squirmed out of Allen's arms and poked Allen's chest. Lenalee patted Allen's face and touched his arms in a curious manner. She tugged on his white hair and examined the strands as if they held the mystery to his androgyny. All through this examination, Allen felt his pride sink lower and lower as if he was physically being beaten.

"You're a guy!" Lavi yelped in incredulity.

_Oh dear Lord, _Allen thought with alarm. _They thought I was a woman!_

Years of poker experience was the only thing that kept Allen from breaking down and staying in some corner of the room. He took a few deep calming breaths, holding his nose between thumb and forefinger to stop an incoming migraine and then faced Lenalee and Lavi again.

"Yes, I am a male," Allen repeated with a small, wavering smile. He saw both of their small bodies wilt with disappointment and panicked again. "I'm really sorry but I can't be your mommy."

Both Lenalee and Lavi looked downtrodden and heartbroken as they huddled close to him. Even they knew that the prince didn't fall in love with the other prince in the fairytales.

"But I like Allen," Lenalee sniffled. "I want him to be our mommy!"

"I want Allen-nanny to be our mommy too!" Lavi bawled. Allen felt his shirt become soaked with tears and snot. He felt tired and drained all of a sudden even though it had only been hours since he had been given care of the children.

_I never knew how hard it was to take care of kids. _Allen thought. He felt even more reverence for the apparition father in his imagination. Surely the father of the twins had an immense amount of patience to deal with them.

He went to the table and searched from two napkins. He held them to their noses.

"Blow," he commanded. Lavi and Lenalee stopped and did as Allen asked. Their combined blows sounded like twin foghorns and made Allen laugh. "All better?"

Both of them nodded slowly but their faces told him everything.

Allen hugged them both. "There, there. I'm still your nanny so I'll be here for as long as you want."

"Really?" Lenalee brightened a little. "Forever?"

"Really," Allen repeated firmly.

"Pinky promise?" Lavi asked, holding out his pinky.

"Yeah," Allen grinned, and hooked his own pinky with Lavi's. He stood up all of a sudden and clapped his gloved hands together. "Now who wants to go out and play?"

"Me!" both Lenalee and Lavi shouted at the same time.

* * *

"We don't want to take a nap!" Lavi scowled. Lenalee held her green ball to her chest and mimicked her brother's expression. Nice nanny/ future mommy or not, Lavi and Lenalee hated bedtime with as much passion as breakfast time and there was nothing Allen could do to persuade them to sleep.

Allen had tried picking them up but they sat firmly on the ground and refused to move. He tried bribing them with promises of more playtime when they woke up but Lavi pointed out that they could play now and Allen's compromise fell at his feet. He tried sheer begging because his pride couldn't have been more bruised than having children doubt his gender but the twins weren't persuaded.

Allen collapsed on the couch from exhaustion. Lenalee and Lavi sulked with petulant faces. Usually their nannies gave up by now or got so aggravated that they stormed out of the room and left them to put their newest prank in place.

Allen sat up as if a revelation hit him upside the head. The twins stared at him curiously.

"Do you have a piano in the house?" Allen asked hopefully.

Lenalee and Lavi exchanged confused glances and telepathic looks. They both nodded and took Allen's hand. Down a few corridors and up a few staircases later, Allen found himself standing at a pair of white double doors. The doors were covered with carvings of a war scene. Allen's eyes widened and he examined the carving; it seemed to be about two sides: one with demons and another with warriors in robes of some type. Each demon look about the same except for a few in the back. One man was exceptionally fat, Allen noted, and had the largest yet most menacing grin he had ever seen. On the other side, Allen could see that each warrior had a different weapon: one had a hammer that looked like it had fire spewing from it, one had boots that looked as if they were propelling her into the air, and yet another had an arm that was a huge claw that blocked his face from view.

_They look like Lenalee and Lavi! _Allen noted with a stagger.

"That's me and Lenalee as grown-ups!" Lavi pointed at the man with the hammer and the woman with the boots.

"That's Daddy!" Lenalee squealed and pointed at a carving of a man with long hair, holding a sword and slashing some ball-shaped monster with cannons protruding out of its body.

"Yeah!" Lavi nodded. "Tiedoll- and Panda-jiji carved this for us. Daddy said he saw this in a dream once!"

"It's umm... very detailed and very pretty," Allen replied with trepidation. Lavi must have noticed the tone of his voice because he ushered Allen towards the door.

"The mean lady got a piano and put it in here," Lavi explained.

"Mean lady?" Allen voiced out but didn't get any further as Lavi stood back and allowed Allen to push open the ornate double doors.

It was a huge ballroom with crystal chandeliers and marble flooring and in the corner, there was a white grand piano. Lights bounced off of its lacquered lid from the floor to ceiling windows that made little fragmented rainbows on the floor.

"It's for dec-... dec-decoration," Lenalee pronounced slowly, scrunching her face in concentration at the hard word she was trying to say.

Lenalee and Lavi hopped up onto the sofa and watched with rapt attention as Allen opened the piano lid and tested out the keys. The sound rang all the way across the room, making it sound loud and grand. He adjusted the seat a little and turned to the twins.

"Would you like to hear something?" Allen asked though he already knew the answer. Both children nodded quickly and with anticipation.

His fingers positioned themselves on the keys and he launched himself into a lullaby he had composed himself as a young child.

Song after song, most of them soft tunes or lullabies, he played until his fingers ached and until he could see the twins slowly drift to sleep. Allen stopped, the music ceasing as if cut by a knife, and padded quietly to the sofa. He gently picked both of the children up, tucked them under his chin, and headed for their room.

Inside were two beds, one on each side of the wall. One side of the room was bright green while the other side was cheerily purple. Toys and books littered the ground and it took a huge amount of effort to navigate around the room without tripping.

Both Lenalee and Lavi whined and whimpered when he tried to separate them and put them in their respective bed. In the end, he gave up and pushed the beds together to form a double bed.

Allen smiled gently when both children stared at him with sleepy eyes. He set them down and pulled the blanket over them.

"Go to sleep now," Allen whispered. He had tucked Lenalee in and was about to leave after tucking in Lavi when Lavi grabbed his hand. Allen stopped and gave him an inquiring look.

"Allen-nanny," Lavi said hesitantly, small cherubic voice laced with sleep. "You're… not a bad nanny."

That single line made Allen's heart soar. A broad smile made its way on Allen's face and his cheeks turned bright pink with joy.

"Thank you, Lavi," Allen answered, happiness barely restrained in his voice.

Lenalee made a small whining noise from her side of the room and Allen went to check on her side. Like Lavi, she grabbed his hand and looked at his through half-lidded eyes.

"Will you stay with us, Allen?" Lenalee asked sleepily. Allen's silver orbs softened. The child was teetering on the verge of sleep, big violet eyes drooping ever so slowly. Her hold on his hand slackened ever so slightly.

"Of course," Allen replied, smoothing her beautiful black hair down. "Now go to sleep."

"Stay with us, Allen-nanny?" Lavi murmured. "Will you still be here when we get up?"

"I'll be right here when you wake up," Allen assured. Both children grabbed his hands, one in each and after Allen gave them dozens of reassurances, they closed their eyes. He settled himself comfortably on the edge of the bed. Even when they were fast asleep and Allen felt his legs go numb, he couldn't bring himself to leave their side.

* * *

Kanda came home and was mildly surprised that there was no screaming, crying, or spouting mess of any sort in his house. He slowly set his keys on the table and waited for the incoming screams of Lenalee and Lavi as they ran away from their new nanny but that never came. The mansion was eerily silent.

Warily, he checked all the rooms and found them all to be in one piece. Whoever Cross had recommended had either been so shitty that she had quit as soon as she saw the children or so fucking fantastic that she was able to calm them down enough not to wreck the mansion. Personally, Kanda thought it was the former and smirked at the thought.

He entered the children's room to find a small boy (or girl?) sleeping by Lavi's and Lenalee's bedsides. Their beds had been pushed close again to form a double bed (something they always did on the sly) and both the boy's (of girl's) hands were each taken by Lavi and Lenalee.

What made Kanda twitch though was the boy's (or girl's) appearance. Hair as white as fresh snow covered the person's pale face which was marked by an ugly scar that ran across from the person's brow to his/her left cheek. The person wore white gloves despite the warm weather, Kanda noted, obviously to hide something. In short, this person was a freak.

At the sound of the door opening, the boy (or girl? He still couldn't tell) stirred and stared at him with groggy chrome-plated eyes.

"Good morning sir," he (Kanda decided it was a boy by the deep voice) greeted. "You must be Kanda Yu."

He made a move to stand up but Lenalee whimpered when he tried to extricate his hand from hers. Allen smiled apologetically and gently removed his hand from hers and Lavi's. He got up and winced when his limbs popped back in place. Allen stretched and elicited more popping sounds as Kanda sneered in disgust and left the room. Allen blinked in confusion and shrugged his shoulders. He walked out and shut the door as Kanda waited for him in the hall.

"Hello, I'm Allen Walker, your new nanny," Allen introduced and held out a hand. Kanda stared at it with an expression he could not read but Allen was not discouraged.

Here was the celebrated father of the beautiful, sweet, kind little children he was taking care of. Sure the scowl was a bit off-putting but Allen was never one for first impressions. He was sure that Kanda was the nicest person in the world. His children were testament of how kind and fatherly he could be.

"What the fuck is a moyashi freak like you doing with my children?" Kanda snapped, unbridled anger etched on his face.

_Say what now? _Allen thought with bewildered eyes. The only thing was, he had said it aloud too and by the looks of it, his new employer was about to deck him in the face.

_Holy shit..._

**A/N: Hate it? Love it? Continue it?**

**Please review!**

**AH! I'm super sorry but for some reason, this chapter was deleted when I checked on it this morning! So sorry to those who weren't able to find this chapter! I've re-uploaded it and while I was at it, made a few small changes. **


	3. My Evil Manager, the Loving Parent

**A/N: So, I'm leaving for Japan, Vietnam, and China for a month in... five hours and I thought I should update one more time before I go because I'm not going to have time to update while I'm hopping around countries and cities. **

**If you go to any of these places, I'm the Chinese girl speaking English with her taller (but younger, damn you growth spurts!) brother about Yullen. Ehehehe... Come talk to me, if you can find me!**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I'm currently traveling to Japan to obtain ownership to D. gray man. Yeah, right.**

Chapter 3: My Evil Manager, the Loving Parent

Allen had imagined welcoming smiles and formal introductions. He had imagined a tired yet thankful smile on a weary, age-lined face but instead he was greeted with this, this sex god in a business suit! Allen turned bright red internally, holding his face in his hands. He could not believe that he just mentally called his boss a sex god.

Kanda was almost the exact opposite of Allen. Slim, angular features made up Kanda's face whereas Allen's was soft and aristocratic. Dark cobalt eyes contrasted with his own monochrome eyes and it made Allen wonder how such menacing eyes could look down softly at his children. Kanda had a muscular and tall figure, showing years of obvious training while Allen's was lean and lithe due to malnourishment at a small age.

Distracted by Kanda, he barely noticed the fist coming toward his face.

"Gah!" Allen yelped and ducked.

Allen fluidly dodged Kanda's fist as it sailed past his head. Years of avoiding wine bottles that Cross had thrown at him endowed him with fast reflexes. As he felt Kanda's fist go past his head, he shot his hand up and yanked Kanda's wrist forward, using the older male's momentum against him. Normally a person would stumble and Allen would hear loud, uneven stomps but he didn't.

Allen turned around quickly, facing Kanda as one would face a sparring opponent. He could tell that Kanda had training in swordsmanship and possibly other martial arts when he observed the other male's stance with a critical eye.

"Fucking beansprout," Kanda snarled, reeling back again. "What the hell are you doing here?" Allen's eyes sharpened and he caught Kanda's hand.

"It's not what it looks like!" Allen shouted, panicking slightly. He gripped Kanda's fist and tried to push him away but Kanda wouldn't budge.

_It's like he's made of bloody steel or something! _Allen thought with alarm. His arm shook with the force Kanda put behind the punch and he fought to keep Kanda immobile.

"I'm asking you one more time," Kanda said slowly, narrowing his eyes at him. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Allen sputtered, the words barely registering in his mind when Kanda's other hand headed for his face. Clearly, Kanda was not waiting for any answers. He blocked it and turned in one sharp movement, elbowing Kanda in the stomach.

"You stupid idiot!" Kanda growled, balling his fists together. "I will fucking kill you and bring you back to that sorry ass excuse of an inventor!"

He would not go back to Cross because anything he faced from his master was a thousand times more painful than what this person would inflict on him. "I-I can explain! I'm the new nanny!" Allen exclaimed, waving his arms frantically. "I'm here because my master, Cross sent me over!"

Allen shut his eyes and turned away when he charged at him again.

Kanda stopped, staring at him incredulously. He lowered his fist. "That lazy ass bastard? You're the 'perfect' person he recommended?"

_Perfect? _Allen snorted in his head and rolled his eyes. _That bastard would never call _me_ perfect._

"Oh, you know him?" Allen asked dryly.

"Shit," Kanda cursed, looking almost apologetic as he drew back. "You're just a gender-challenged beansprout."

The words "gender-challenged" echoed repeatedly in Allen's ears. He froze up and stared wide-eyed at Kanda who was making his way toward Lenalee and Lavi's bedroom.

"Gender-challenged?" Allen squeaked. His anger flared and he glared at Kanda. "_Excuse_ me?"

"You heard me," Kanda growled, ignoring him in favor of opening the door to the twins' room, "Or are you deaf too?"

No one insulted him like that. Allen's rain-colored eyes turned as sharp as steel.

"You're one to talk, you cross-gendered tranny he-she," Allen retorted, silver pools gazing at the other coolly.

Kanda wheeled around and Allen flinched when a glare that could freeze Hell itself centered on him.

"Shut you ugly mouth, bean," Kanda snapped. "I should just fire you on the spot!"

Instantly, Allen's eyes widened and he quieted. He actually really liked working here. It was better than gambling any day and though he tried not to, he loved Lenalee and Lavi. He was never close to anyone save for his foster father Mana and even then, he had lost Mana. Living with Cross had turned him bitter and he closed off his emotions in order to survive the world he now lived in.

Seeing Lenalee and Lavi though, changed everything. He had never felt so loved and needed when the twins stared up at him. He felt possibly, maybe he could be someone to them and that thought made Allen's heart warm.

"Yu-papa?" "Daddy?"

Both adults turned around and stared at two little children padding their way out of their room. Lavi yawned, rubbing his tired green eyes with his fists. Lenalee held onto the hem of her brother's shirt and stared cutely up at them, curious about the interaction between her beloved father and her beloved nanny.

"Lavi, Lenalee," Allen remarked automatically, eyes brightening at the sight of the twins. "Good morning."

"Daddy?" Lenalee repeated timidly. She shuffled her feet on the ground and pulled her brother with her to their father.

"I'm home," Kanda said gently. He knelt down as they clambered into his arms. Lenalee immediately reached up to pat her father's face in welcome and Lavi, still a bit sleepy from nap time, snuggled into the crook of Kanda's neck. Kanda embraced them tightly and offered both of them a small smile.

Allen's jaw almost dropped as he watched the scene with astonishment. Just moments ago, Kanda was about to pummel him to death and here he was, so kind and loving to his children that it almost seemed as if another person had taken the place of the rude and menacing man before.

"Daddy, daddy!" Lenalee chirped, tugging on her father's shirt. "Today was fun!"

"Really?" Kanda asked incredulously and shot daggers at Allen who tensed under the piercing gaze.

"Yeah!" Lenalee said. "Ask Lavi! Lavi will tell you!"

Lenalee stared with curious eyes at her brother before shaking him gently from across Kanda's arm. Lavi's green eyes opened and Lenalee shot him a meaningful look.

Allen looked flabbergasted as the twins silently communicated between each other. He turned to Kanda who looked calmly and patiently between their inaudible speech as if it were an everyday occurrence. Lavi turned to Allen and shot him a big smile. Instantly, Allen felt the fear melt away into a strange sort of calm. He smiled back reassuringly.

Lavi nodded fervently, full awake now that his twin was. "Yeah, yeah! Allen-nanny loves us a lot! And we like Allen-nanny!"

Lenalee smiled proudly as if an impossible feat had transpired. She stared at Kanda with enough intensity that made Allen question if she really was five years old.

"And he played with us!"

"And he played piano for us!"

"Yeah, it was pretty!"

"And he promised to be with us forever!"

"And he said he'd find-"

"That's enough, Lavi," Allen cut him off abruptly, turning bright red. He thanked his lucky stars when Lavi quieted and stared at Kanda expectantly. One more word out and he really would have lost his job.

Kanda's eyes widened perceptibly. Lavi and Lenalee squirmed in his arms and reached their hands out to Allen.

"Allen-nanny!" they both shouted. "Allen-nanny! We want to go with Allen!" Automatically, Allen came up to him and gently pulled them away from Kanda.

They latched onto Allen and giggled when he bounced them.

Allen smiled as they clung onto his shirt and buried themselves into his neck. He was never good with children but feeling both of their weight in his arms, he was overcome with a soft feeling of love and adoration. He nuzzled Lenalee's baby soft cheek and was rewarded with a loud shriek of laughter. Not one to be left out, Lavi bumped his nose against Allen's cheek in a pantomime of nuzzling that made Allen beam and chuckle.

The twins and Allen turned toward Kanda who was looking at them with a cold, calculating gaze that Allen could not decipher.

"Can Allen-nanny stay with us, Yu-papa?" Lavi asked hopefully, green eyes shining with so much cuteness that it was almost heinous.

"Allen loves us," Lenalee said convincingly. "He wants to stay with us forever!"

She threw out her arms in a large gesture as if it could measure the expanse of 'forever'. Allen almost lost his balance when she moved abruptly but it made him grin to see the twins defending him.

"And he cooks pancakes!" Lavi shrieked joyfully. "I love pancakes! Allen-nanny makes the bestest pancakes in the world!"

Allen flinched when Kanda's glare centered on him again. It was a look that plainly said, "What the _hell _did you feed my children?".

"Daddy," Lenalee whispered. "We can keep Allen with us, right?" Her bottom lip jutted out and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

Kanda tried to pull Lenalee away from Allen but she resisted with a frightened squeak and instead, pulled Kanda so that Allen's head collided with Kanda's shoulder.

"Ow," Allen winced. Lavi followed suit and pulled the other shoulder of Kanda's shirt making Allen collide once more with Kanda. Allen turned bright red when his head stayed planted in the juncture of Kanda's neck and shoulder. He tried to move but the twins held him tightly. He breathed shallowly, afraid that he would piss off Kanda in any way if he breathed any deeper.

Silver orbs peered at Kanda who looked unruffled by the turn of events. Cobalt eyes stared back at him with an apathetic expression as if daring him to say a word about their current position.

"We love Allen-nanny," Lavi sobbed, tears rolling down his pale cherubic face.

"Please let Allen stay," Lenalee whimpered, holding onto her father's shirt and Allen's shirt collar as if her life depended on it. "He's so nice and he loves us very very much and we love him and—and…"

Allen could see Kanda's faltering gaze as he regarded his daughter and his son.

"Fine, the beansprout can stay," he grumbled, defeated. Lenalee and Lavi cheered, tears automatically gone, and let go of Kanda's shirt. Allen stumbled back a few feet, his cheeks stained pink and his lungs heaving for air.

"Allen-nanny!" Lavi shouted worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Lavi," Allen said, his voice hitting higher octaves than usual. "I'm perfectly fine!"

Lenalee giggled, "You sound funny, Allen!"

They both imitated Allen, sending their voices into high-pitched squeaks and then laughing out loud. Allen blushed.

Kanda came forward and the twins allowed themselves to be taken from Allen's arms.

"Go and play while I talk to your new nanny," Kanda said, turning to each of them. Lenalee and Lavi nodded, giving their father twin grins.

He lowered them down and gave them a little push toward one of the corridors. Lavi and Lenalee smiled brightly at their father and chased each other down the corridor. Their little feet made tapping sounds as they bounded for the yard.

"Listen, beansprout," Kanda sneered once the children were out of earshot.

Allen groaned inwardly and prepared himself mentally; this was going to be hell. He took a deep breath and schooled his expression to the one he used during poker games, cool and bright with a smile that could disarm anyone. He hoped that by showing a positive look, he could alleviate some of the anger at him but for some reason, he could see that this wasn't the case. If anything, Kanda looked even more ready to chop off his head when he put up his mask.

"Wipe that smug grin off your ugly face!" Kanda snapped.

Allen frowned as the smile slipped off his face.

"For some odd reason that I cannot imagine, my children like you so you can stay but if I hear any discrepancy I will shove that old man body of yours six feet under the ground where it's supposed to belong," Kanda snarled.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Allen snorted, rolling his eyes. "I don't have a lot of experience with children but I love Lenalee and Lavi. I would sooner stop paying Cross's debts and suffer his wrath and harm the twins."

"Regardless," Kanda said. "I don't deliver empty threats. I will end you if you so much as harm a hair on my children's heads."

The look on the man's face surprised Allen. He had never met such a protective and loving parent as Kanda. It made him smile inside when he saw past the anger.

"Wow," Allen regarded lightly. "You must really love them to be so gentle to them but an ass to everyone else."

"S-Shut up, beansprout!" Kanda shouted at him. He had obviously hit a sensitive nerve. "You're relieved of your job today. You can go to your room or whatever. Any other concerns you have, you can go to Marie." Allen could see a light, barely visible pink blush across the other's cheeks. Kanda stormed past Allen and went to find the twins, leaving him with his thoughts.

Allen bit his lip as his cheeks turned warm. He could not believe the nerve of this man! Emotions of envy, hate, and anger churned in his stomach, making his heart twist uncomfortably in his chest.

"It's okay to say you love your children," Allen whispered quietly, more to himself than the retreating figure in the distance. "It's okay for you, who has everything, to love them."

_He's an incredible parent._ Allen thought.

* * *

Kanda stormed across the corridors and into the backyard. It irked him that the children loved such a whiny, girly beansprout who obviously had no training in taking care of children. It irked him even more when Allen had questioned his love for his children. The stupid beansprout had no idea what he had gone through to gain custody of the twins and how he had suffered to rise to the top of the electronics market in order to provide for his two children.

Kanda was the head CEO of Mugen Co. which specialized in electronics. With Cross Marian, who Kanda grudgingly admitted was a competent inventor though a lousy person in general, he had patented golem phones, portable phones that were not only wireless but also hands free. He had also patented their world-famous Exorcist computer brand. Their sleek and innovative design was top of the line and their antivirus sweeper was the best in the nation if not the world. The two patents had launched his company to fame and now he was making enough to provide for his children and then some.

Moyashi, Kanda thought with anger, had no right to question how much Kanda had given up to see his two precious angels happy.

While he could not deny his children anything, he would make sure to fire the idiotic beansprout when they tired of him.

"Daddy!" Lenalee squealed, running up to her father. He gave her a soft smile and knelt down to catch her into an embrace. "Welcome home!"

Lavi followed his twin and ran into his arms, plowing into Kanda with enough force to make him lose his balance.

Kanda fell gently on the grass, careful to make sure he landed on his back so that Lenalee would not be hurt. Lenalee and Lavi giggled as they clambered onto their father's stomach.

"Yu-papa!" Lavi beamed brightly. "Welcome home!"

"Glad to be home, usagi," Kanda said fondly, ruffling Lavi's red hair. "How was your day?"

Kanda sat up and set Lenalee on the ground, where she joined her brother who was playing with the green ball.

"It was super duper fun!" Lavi grinned, gesturing wildly with his arms.

"Really?" Kanda asked again slowly. "Was the beansprout mean to you? Did he hurt you?"

Lenalee and Lavi gasped as if he had said something that was blasphemous. They clutched each other for support which made Kanda almost laugh.

"Allen would never hurt us!" Lenalee shouted with wide violet eyes.

"Allen-nanny is super duperly nice!" Lavi exclaimed. "We like him."

Lavi looked at the ball and then at Lenalee. She smiled back at him and nodded, holding out her hands. He rolled the ball toward Lenalee who bent down and caught it between her arms.

"He played us the piano until we went to sleep," she said softly. "It was really pretty, like the lullabies in the box Grandpa Tiedoll gave us." She rolled the ball to Lavi who caught it.

"Do you mean your music box?" Kanda questioned with surprise. The music box that Tiedoll had given them contained complex pieces of classical music. So the brat knew some music…

Lenalee nodded.

"Allen-nanny made us a promise too," Lavi spoke. "He said he will stay with us forever and ever. He will never leave us."

It made Kanda's heart twist to see how much love his children had missed out on because of their absent mother. Thinking about their mother made his heart turn dark and a pang of anger and hatred went through it.

Their mother was the reason he had to scrape and claw his way to the top of the electronics industry and why he had fought tooth-and-nail for custody of the children. She had made them suffer through so much and it hurt to see that Lenalee and Lavi would never know a mother's love for her children.

He gathered Lenalee and Lavi in his arms, holding them tightly and causing Lavi to drop the ball. Lenalee and Lavi looked at each other confused by their father's odd and sudden behavior. They hugged him though, sensing the situation.

"The beansprout can stay for as long as you want," Kanda sighed tiredly.

"Yay!" both Lenalee and Lavi cheered.

It looked like "Allen-nanny" was going to stay for a long while. Kanda frowned at the thought.

* * *

**A/N: TBC? **

**Love it? Like it? Hate it? How was that? Hopefully you guys liked it. I'll see you guys in a month!**

**Also, if you could help me point out any spelling/grammar mistakes then that would be greatly appreciated because I wrote this chapter really quickly.**


	4. The Home Territory

**A/N: Yeah, got a 2030 on my SATs on my first try and my mom is still upset that I didn't score higher. On a better note, I did finish this chapter against all odds. I'm still pressed for time and I'm writing whenever I have time so please be patient for future chapters. Meanwhile please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I went to Japan and tried bargaining with Hoshino-sensei but no dice.**

Chapter 4: The Home Territory

The first thing Allen heard in the morning was bell-like giggling. He turned around in his comfy, warm bed and pulled the covers around him tighter. It was much too early to be woken up in his opinion and if he wanted to sleep for five more minutes before dealing with his bastard for a master then damn it all, he would sleep for five more minutes. He heard shushing noises, more giggling, and someone say, "Little master and miss, I don't think you should-", and then the next moment he felt as if his insides had exploded and he shouted out in pain. He arms shot out of the covers and waved frantically around, trying to bat away the source of pain but it was met with more giggling.

Allen's silver eyes flew open and he saw two smiling faces peering up at him. Lenalee and Lavi sat on his stomach, laughing merrily as a distressed Marie looked from Allen to the twins in a helpless gesture.

For a moment, Allen was disoriented. Seeing two little children confused him but it was a welcome sight compared to his master with a hammer in his hands. He shuddered lightly and twitched.

_Right,_ Allen remembered, _Master sold me off to be a nanny of all things!_

His stomach throbbed painfully, reminding him of the current situation. The twins looked at him expectantly, patting the sheets covering his bruised abdomen with barely contained impatience.

_Oh God_, Allen winced,_ I think they just popped my stomach and my kidneys._

He let out a groan and tried to sit up but their combined weight was too heavy for Allen to lift himself up. Lenalee and Lavi, taking the hint, tumbled off to the side with little "oof!' sounds and bounced on the sides excitedly.

"Good morning, Allen!" Lenalee chirped, beaming at him. "Time to get up!" She stood up on the bed but wobbled as the bed shifted and fell back down, tumbling into Lavi.

"Wakey wakey, Allen-nanny!" Lavi crowed and jumped up and down on his bed.

"G-Good morning," Allen wheezed, still breathless from being jumped on. He offered them a small, wobbly smile and patted their heads. Lenalee and Lavi glowed under the attention.

"I'm sorry Mister Walker," Marie said apologetically as he watched from Allen's door. "The little master and miss wanted to come along to wake you up but I didn't realize they were going to use that sort of wake up call. Are you alright? Should I get the children to come out and wait for you while you freshen up?"

"I'm quite alright," Allen smiled, pulling the covers off and getting up from the bed. He pulled Lenalee up into his arms when Lenalee made little whimper noises and thrust up her hands to be carried. He knelt down and allowed Lavi to clamber onto his back. "So what are you two up to today?"

"We want to play with Allen-nanny!" Lavi cheered as he swung around precariously. Allen held the underside of Lavi's knees to support him. "Yu-papa is at work and he said that we should jump on your stomach to wake you up! He said you would really like that!"

Allen's left eye twitched. _Kanda, you bastard._

He sighed tiredly and blew a strand of wayward hair out of his face.

"How about you two wait outside while I dress up?" Allen asked gently, setting Lenalee down and lowering Lavi down as well. "Then I'll make you guys breakfast."

"Yay!" both twins shouted as they skipped around Allen. "Pancakes!"

"That won't be necessary," Marie replied, "The cook has already made raisin bread with quince jam, broiled fish stuffed with cod fish eggs, and radish and egg casserole."

The twins stopped mid-skip. "Eww..." Lenalee and Lavi shuddered in revulsion.

"I don't wanna eat radish," Lavi whined, sticking out his tongue and scrunching his face up. "Radish is icky."

"I don't like fishy eggs," Lenalee pouted with the same face as her brother.

Allen laughed. He wasn't picky with foods and the casserole sounded appealing but he knew that children had a higher sense of taste than adults and they wouldn't enjoy the foods.

"How about this?" Allen responded, kneeling down to their level and looked at the twins with bright silver eyes. "If you guys eat your share of breakfast today, then I will take you out for ice cream later."

"Ice cream?" Lenalee and Lavi repeated, staring up at him with excitement. Their eyes sparkled with the promised treat and they nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, ice cream!"

They jumped up and down, twirling each other in circles shouting 'Ice cream! Ice cream!' every few seconds.

"Now, hurry on out so I can get changed," Allen chuckled and stood up, leading them by the hand out of the bedroom.

"M-Mister Walker," Marie began, seeing that the situation had spiraled out of control. "The children are not allowed to leave the mansion!"

"Eh?" Allen blinked. "Why not?"

Lenalee stopped and guiltily stared up at Allen.

"Daddy said it's dangerous for Lavi and me to go out with anyone other than Daddy or Marie," Lenalee explained in a meek voice. Her cheeks reddened and she stared at her shoes as if awaiting a scolding. "He said that there are evil people out there who don't like children. He said they will take us away from Daddy."

Allen shot Marie a questioning gaze.

"As a doting father, Master Kanda treasures his children and their safety is his utmost priority," Marie explained with a helpless look.

"That is a problem," Allen acknowledged with a thoughtful tilt of his head. "Then why don't we ask Mr. Marie if he would be able to join us on our adventure to the ice cream shop?"

Both Lenalee and Lavi shot up and their eyes turned bright as they turned to Marie who flinched.

"Yeah!" Lavi chirped. "Marie, do you want to come with us?"

Lenalee joined her brother. "Please come with us?" she said cutely, violet eyes shining innocuously.

"I-I must insist, Master Lavi," Marie said carefully. "We must ask the Master Kanda before we do anything."

"Oh," Lavi wilted and sulked. His face was turning bright red and his arms crossed his chest in a huff. Allen could tell that he was on the verge of a temper tantrum.

"But I want to go outside with Allen!" Lenalee pouted. Her large violet eyes stared up at Allen pleadingly. Allen felt sweat coat the back of his neck.

"H-How about this?" Allen stuttered nervously. "When your father gets back, we'll ask him if we can go somewhere special!"

"Like the beach?" Lavi asked skeptically. Allen nodded brightly.

"The beach sounds like a great idea," Allen affirmed. "But you have to promise to be very good today so I can tell your father about it. That way he will be more willing to let us go."

"Really?" Lenalee questioned.

"Really," Allen repeated with a firm tilt of his head.

"Yay!" Lenalee and Lavi squealed.

Both twins skipped out of the room before chasing each other down the halls in a race to the kitchens. Allen turned to Marie who shook his head in resignation.

"I have to say, Mister Walker," Marie chided gently. "You must not promise things that you cannot follow through on. Master Kanda will not be happy that you promised to take them to the beach when he returns."

"I know," Allen laughed softly, brushing back the silver strands of his hair with one hand. "But when I look into those sweet faces, I feel like I can't help but want to give them everything. Surely, the Master Kanda and you yourself must know what it is like?"

Marie smiled back in reply.

* * *

Kanda sighed, looking at the piles of papers in the "in" box beside him. They needed to be read and stamped for approval before the day was done and judging by the pile, he would have to work through lunch in order to finish on time. Not that he brought any lunch because he knew that this would happen.

Spotting a photograph on his desk of his beloved children though, brought a tiny smile to his lips. He would finish as soon as possible so he could go home in time to see his children off to bed. He pulled the next sheet from the stack and began to diligently work again.

A light caught his vision and he noticed that his intercom was flashing. He pressed the button.

"What is it?" Kanda asked.

"K-Kanda-san, y-you have a guest," Miranda, his secretary, stuttered on the intercom, "I-I'm sorry! P-Please f-forgive me!" she wailed before the line clicked on her end.

_What the hell is she sorry for?_ Kanda thought with a raised eyebrow as the machine began to buzz.

He reached over to press the intercom off but the double doors of his office opened and in came a lithe figure, strutting across in black stiletto heels to his desk. She had long blonde hair tied in a low ponytail and her black pants suit screamed of wealth and refined taste. Her eyes were shielded with black designer sunglasses but Kanda knew they were a cold, steely gold.

Instantly his eyes sharpened and he stood up abruptly, slamming his hands against his desk and scattering the papers onto the floor. Years of oppressed anger and malice resurfaced, turning his vision red.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Kanda shouted, fists balling at his sides. "Get the fuck out. Now."

"Kanda," Lulubell greeted with a sniff. He winced as his name slid like a slithering snake out of her mouth. "Is that how you greet your ex-wife when she comes for a friendly visit?" she patronized in a lilting tone.

"What do you want?" Kanda growled. "And how the hell did you get past my secretary?"

Lulubell crossed her arms and looked off to the side in disdain.

"She isn't the most suited for her job," Lulubell remarked lightly, boredly examining her nails for any default. "She looked positively stricken when she saw me."

"I would suggest you stop insulting my employees and get the fuck out of here before I personally kick you out," Kanda snapped, pointing to the door.

"But dear," Lulubell cooed in a sickening sweet way. She sauntered up to his desk and perched on the edge, leaning forward seductively. Her suit jacket slid a little open, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Kanda backed away. He knew what she was after and it made his stomach curl in disgust at the means she was using to get it.

"Don't fucking use that disgusting name!" Kanda snarled. "Get out and crawl back to your bastard of a boytoy."

"I'll have you know that the Fourteenth is a mafia member," she commented with an air of superiority. "He is famous and wealthy." She put on a saucy smile and leaned in until her cherry red lips almost touched the shell of his ear. "But he is nothing compared to you."

Kanda smiled arrogantly and roughly shoved her away. Lulubell slipped off his desk and stood up gracefully.

"You're here because you found out that I bought out his company," Kanda smirked cruelly, knowing that he had the upper hand now. "You want money and you decided to come to me to get it."

Lulubell's lips thinned. That was exactly why she had come. Not that she wanted Kanda to know about her intentions so blatantly. Now that her current lover had run out of money, she had to find other means to fuel her wealthy lifestyle. She had heard how her ex-husband was climbing to the top of the financial ladder with his inventions and decided to pay him a visit.

Unfortunately, she could tell that her tricks were not working on him.

"Don't be like that, love," she purred, her slim fingers tracing the shirt that did nothing to hide the toned body underneath.

"Kanda-san, you have another visitor, two actually," Miranda's voice came from the intercom. "They're... Wait, stop!"

Kanda let out a string of colorful curses in his head; he had left the machine on. To his horror, he heard the sound of familiar pattering footsteps coming into the room.

_Oh God, not now,_ he thought as his insides turned cold and a bit of panic cracked his steely demeanor. _Damn it all, not now._

"Daddy!" "Yu-papa!"

* * *

"Oh dear," Marie murmured, staring at a small square box wrapped with dark blue cloth sitting on the kitchen table.

"What is it?" Allen asked, wiping Lenalee's face of mushy radish. He turned to Lavi and helped him cut up his casserole. Spearing one piece on the small fork, he handed it to Lavi who stuffed it into his mouth and beamed at Allen. Allen grinned back and resumed cutting up Lavi's breakfast.

"Master Kanda has forgotten his bento again," Marie sighed. He unwrapped the lunch box and proceeded to the trash bin to dispose of it but Allen stopped him abruptly.

"Food is not to be wasted!" Allen shouted in dismay before shutting up abruptly when three pairs of eyes turned to him in confusion. Having everyone's attention on him suddenly made him turned bright pink and he bowed his head, busying himself by fussing over Lenalee and Lavi. "I'm sorry for the outburst," Allen muttered, the tips of his ears still burning.

Living with Cross and being constantly in debt had taught Allen the value of things. He had constantly gone without food for days at a time, working and paying off the debts his master had gathered, and when he did have enough money to buy anything, he made sure to carefully spend it.

"What does 'wasted' mean?" Lenalee asked innocently.

"Wasted means that no one wants it and it goes in the trash," Allen explained carefully, wiping her cheeks of food. "It is very bad because food is meant to be eaten."

Lenalee and Lavi gasped, breakfast forgotten.

"But Daddy is never bad!" Lenalee exclaimed.

"Yu-papa is super nice and he would never do something evil!" Lavi proclaimed passionately, little fists balled in front of him.

"We have to bring it to him and make sure he eats it!" Lenalee said quickly. Lavi turned to her and nodded.

"We should do exactly that," Allen piped up.

"Eh?" both children and Marie looked at Allen who nodded fervently.

"Let's go visit your father and take it to him," Allen suggested. "I'm sure he'll be hungry without his lunch." He turned to Marie. "If it's not too much trouble for you to take us there," Allen started but Marie stopped him with a hand and an understanding smile.

"It sounds like a good idea," Marie agreed. "After all, you did promise to take the children somewhere today and I'm sure the Master Kanda would like to see his children after a long day of work."

"Then it's settled," Allen said with an air of finality. "We can make lunch and go eat with your father today."

Both children cheered and gave Marie and Allen their widest grins.

"I want spaghetti!" Lenalee shouted, her hands shooting up in the air. She ripped her bib off and ran into the kitchens where the chef was.

"Silly!" Lavi giggled, following after her. "We had spaghetti yesterday! I want cherry pie!"

* * *

The skyscraper building was large and modernly designed with large tinted glass panes and concrete making up most of the exterior. On the top was the sign "Mugen Co." with a pink lotus insignia emblazoned to the side. Allen could see that Kanda was an important person, bastard or not. The thought made him twitch.

_Damn rich bastards, _Allen thought as he helped Lenalee and Lavi out of their booster seats. Marie came out from the driver's side and helped Allen set the children down.

"Here are your lunches," Marie nodded, handing Allen a large stack of bentos (most of it being Allen's portions). "Master Kanda's office is on the 30th floor. Ask for Miranda Lotto, his secretary to show you in. I'm sure the little master and miss know their way around so just follow them when you're lost."

"Thank you," Allen said and let out a breath in relief. He was horrible with directions.

"Give me Yu-papa's!" Lavi reached up, his fists curling and uncurling impatiently. He stopped when Allen knelt down to his height and gave him a scolding look.

"Lavi, what's the magic word?" Allen reminded gently. Lavi looked confused for a moment before it hit him and his green eyes lighting up.

"Oops!" Lavi clapped a hand over his mouth before looking sheepishly at Marie, "Give me Yu-papa's lunch, please?"

Marie chuckled and gave Lavi the bento wrapped in dark blue cloth. Lavi smiled and clutched the bento to his chest.

"Thanks!" he chirped. Lenalee stood beside him, holding the hem of her blue overall dress patiently. She remained quiet, her large round violet eyes staring up at Allen.

"I will pick you up when Master Kanda comes back from work," Marie announced. "If you decide not to stay, then ask Master Kanda to give me a call."

"Thank you," Allen nodded and smiled as Marie waved at them and drove the car back to the mansion.

"Daddy works here," Lenalee whispered, pointing up at the building. "He works at the very tippy top!"

"It's really high up!" Lavi nodded sagely. "We pretend we're airplanes, above the clouds!"

He began circling around Allen, making airplane noises as he ran around. Allen laughed and held out his hands to hold onto Lavi's and Lenalee's.

"Let go before lunch time is over," Allen said. He tensed, seeing the buff security guard at the entrance.

"I don't think we can go in this way," Allen mumbled, hesitating. Lenalee ignored this comment and pulled Allen along insistently.

"It's okay," Lenalee whispered reassuringly. When Allen saw the sincere and seraphic face directed at him, he couldn't help but smile back.

"Lenalee, Lavi," the guard greeted noticing the small children pulling Allen's hand into the building. To Allen's immense relief, he relaxed the hand on his holster. "And this must be your new nanny."

"My name is Allen Walker," he introduced, bowing down quickly. "Pleased to meet you!"

"He's super nice!" Lavi proclaimed, tugging insistently at Allen's hand. "You don't have to lock him out."

At that comment, Allen's head turned sharply to Lavi who grinned innocently in return.

Allen entered, holding Lenalee's hand as if she were his life support. His eyes widened at the sheer enormity of the office. The reception area alone could've held fifty people with the sheer amount of sleek, black couches and glass coffee tables scattered on the white marble floor.

Lavi trotted beside his sister, carrying the bento in his small arms. He seemed to take a certain pride in carrying the box as if it were a trophy to show the staff. Everyone in the company: accountants, office workers, and VIP members greeted the twins with indulgent smiles and nodded in acknowledgment to him. Allen guessed that this was a frequent occurrence at the amount of people who cooed and fawned over the children.

They took the elevator to the 30th floor and the noises of the ringing phones, incomprehensible murmurs, and business meeting going on fell behind them. The only things on the 40th floor were a desk where the secretary, a nervous-looking women in her mid-30s, sat, a security guard who stared at them with sharp, cold eyes as they passed, and a few chairs and tables scattered around.

She seemed to calm noticeably when she saw the twins trotting behind his legs.

"So what brings you here?" Miranda asked, smiling at the twins who squirmed restlessly by Allen's side. She waved at the array of toys on her desks and nodded encouragingly at the twins.

"We came to bring a lunch box to Kanda," Allen explained. Lavi nodded and nudged the bento box onto the desk. He and Lenalee climbed to the top of the waiting chairs in front of her desk and began to play with the small toys on her desk.

"I'll alert him," Miranda said but a nervous frown set on her thin lips, "Kanda-san has another visitor right now."

"Thank you," Allen smiled. "We can wait."

She leaned over and pressed a button on the sleek black machine.

"Kanda-san, you have another visitor, two actually," Miranda spoke into the machine. "They're... W-Wait, s-stop!" she shouted in panic as Lenalee and Lavi made a run for the door. Allen jumped and quickly turned to Miranda.

"I'm sorry but I have to go," Allen said apologetically and ran after the twins. He caught them as they burst through the door.

"Daddy!" Lenalee squealed.

"Yu-papa!" Lavi greeted at the same time, waving around the bento. Allen stopped right behind them, clutching their shirts before they could run off again.

"Lenalee, Lavi!" Allen admonished lightly. "You shouldn't burst through the door without knocking first."

Suddenly, the atmosphere dropped a few degrees as the children suddenly went still in his arms and the noise had quieted significantly. Allen looked up and made a small sound that could have passed as a gulp and a gasp. Kanda was standing—leaning, almost—with a strikingly beautiful woman all over him. His face turned bright red when Kanda shot him a glare that would have killed him right on the spot if he were any lesser being.

"I'm sorry," Allen mumbled, keeping his head down. "I did not know we were interrupting something. We'll be going now."

"That won't be necessary," the woman said in a voice that reminded Allen of honey mixed with champagne, sweet with a hint of alcohol poisoning. "I am just about to leave."

Lenalee and Lavi crowded around Allen, quivering in fear when they saw Lulubell.

"Children," Lulubell smiled, leaning near Lenalee. "I haven't seen your faces in such a long time."

Lenalee whimpered and curled herself against Allen's legs.

Noticing the gesture, Allen's eyes turned steely and he knelt down rapidly to pick up the children into his arms. Lenalee and Lavi didn't mind the abrupt change as they clung onto his vest. The box of bentos laid forgotten at his feet as he held the kids protectively in his arms. Something about this woman seemed off to him and the twins didn't seem to like her.

The mere gesture seemed to set her off, Allen noticed. Her red nails clenched into fists and her equally red lips pressed in a thin line. She reached out a hand to touch Lenalee who yelped and pressed her face against Allen's neck. Lavi glared at her as best he could.

"I'll be taking my leave now," Lulubell replied in a cold voice that sent tiny darts into Allen's stomach. Her shoes clicked primly as she brushed passed Allen, hitting him in the shoulder spitefully.

The door shut quietly behind him. His eyes darted to Kanda who looked just about ready to send him to an early and painful death.

"What are you doing here?" Kanda growled, barely suppressing his previous anger. He put a palm over his face, breathing in deeply and letting it out to calm himself down. His children did not need to see him upset and least of all, in front of the annoying beansprout.

"Umm... bringing you lunch?" Allen explained in an almost sheepish tone, his eyes straying toward the bentos on the ground.

"Out of all the days to pick," Kanda hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

He looked up though and saw tears in Lenalee's eyes and Lavi's reddening face. Kanda made to walk over to her but Allen beat him to it.

"What's wrong, Lenalee?" Allen asked gently, bouncing both children in his arms.

Lenalee pointed to the door and let out a sniffle. Allen frowned, understanding her fears right away.

"Hush, Lenalee," Allen whispered softly, pulling her tighter to his chest. Lenalee made small whimpering noises from the back of her throat and gripped his shirt in between her clenched fists. "Hush. The lady is gone now."

Lenalee shook her head and cried quietly into Allen's shoulder. Allen turned to Lavi and he could tell that the green-eyed boy was on the verge of crying too. Allen made a helpless face before he spotted the bento boxes on the ground.

"Hey, want to see a trick?" Allen asked. Lenalee and Lavi stopped crying, tears still in their eyes as they looked at him in surprise and wonder. "Watch this."

Allen maneuvered the toe of his shoe under the boxes and with a deft flick of his foot, he catapulted the boxes and landed them neatly in a stack on his head. At once, Lavi's face broke out into a grin.

"Cool!" Lavi clapped in awe and pointed to the bento he had dropped on the ground. "Do it again with Yu-papa's lunch box!"

Allen turned to Lenalee and saw a tiny smile making its way on her cherubic face.

Allen flicked the box onto his foot but instead of catapulting it straight onto his head, it landed on the ball of his foot behind him. Giving them a sly grin, he quickly dipped low, earning a whoop of laughter from the twins, and kicked it on top of the stack on his head.

The twins clapped and cheered as Allen laughed gaily.

Allen made his way to the couch lined up against one of the walls where Kanda quietly pulled Lenalee and Lavi away from him. Allen reached up and took the stack of boxes on his head. He set them down on the glass coffee table and began unwrapping them one by one, checking to see if they were still intact.

"Daddy!" Lenalee greeted, latching onto him, "We came here to bring you lunch!"

"I asked Jerry to make us lunch too so we can eat with Yu-papa too!" Lavi said, his chest puffing up proudly.

"You didn't need to come," Kanda sighed, allowing both of his children to wrap their arms around his neck. "And you didn't have to bring the beansprout," he emphasized, shooting daggers at him.

Allen's eye twitched.

"My name is Allen!" he snapped automatically, glaring at his boss with equal venom. "It would do you good to memorize your employee's name."

"I don't need to remember a beansprout's name," Kanda retorted smartly.

Lenalee and Lavi watched this exchange with confusion. They didn't understand why their daddy kept calling their super nice nanny a beansprout.

"Daddy?" Lenalle piped up, "What's a beansprout?"

"A beansprout is a small, white skinny thing," Kanda explained, watching as Allen flinched with every word. "It's a vegetable. A puny, tiny vegetable."

"Hey!" Allen shouted indignantly. "I am not a small, tiny, or skinny and I'm definitely not a thing!"

Lenalee and Lavi stuck out their tongues; they didn't like vegetables. This answer though, confused then even more.

"Ne, Yu-papa," Lavi asked cutely. "Then why do you call Allen-nanny beansprout?"

"Yeah, Kanda," Allen taunted, smirking victoriously with the knowledge that Kanda would never say anything negative to his children. "Why do you call me beansprout?"

Kanda's eyes darted from the twins to Allen, alternatively glaring at the nanny who looked at him smugly and mentally cursing as he frantically searched inside his brain for an answer.

"It's a nickname," Kanda explained in a tight voice. Allen snorted as he uncovered the food and pulled out the cutlery that was packed in with it.

"Like sugarplum?" Lenalee asked innocently, wide violet eyes gleaming. Allen choked and nearly banged his head into the glass table. He wondered where she had heard that from but enjoyed Kanda's reddening, pained face with sadistic pleasure.

"Like honey bunch?" Lavi put in."Or pumpkin or cuppycake? Or snoogum boogums?"

Allen couldn't help it, he really couldn't. His head slammed on the table and his shoulders shook with the force of trying to hold back the round of laughter that threatened to bubble. Lenalee and Lavi watched him with confusion while Kanda continued glaring threateningly at him.

"I-Ignore me," Allen waved his hand, his voice muffled because his head was still firmly attached to the table.

"Is it like sweetie pie?" Lenalee wondered, staring at her father for confirmation.

"Oh!" Lavi shouted helpfully. "Maybe it's like gumdrop!"

"Yes, exactly like that," Kanda gritted his teeth. Allen held his sides and clapped a hand to lips to smother his laughter. Luckily, Lenalee and Lavi didn't notice and they seemed satisfied with the answer.

The twins squirmed in Kanda's arms and made whining sounds to be let down. Automatically, Kanda set them down and followed them as they trotted over to the table.

"Beansprout-nanny!" Lavi shouted, clapping the table. Allen jumped, the spoons and forks in his hands clattering on the table noisily.

"W-What?" Allen squeaked.

"If Yu-papa gets to call Allen-nanny beansprout then I want to call Allen-nanny beansprout too!" Lavi piped up.

"You should," Kanda smirked indulgently, "I'm sure your nanny would love that name, wouldn't he?"

"Allen is fine," he countered. He smiled, tight and forced. "Really, children. Allen is perfectly fine."

"Eh?" Lenalee frowned. "But Daddy gets to call you a special name. And we want to be special to beansprout-nanny too!"

"Yeah," Lavi added, "We want beansprout-nanny to love us just as much as Yu-papa loves you!"

At this Kanda made a face as if the mere thought of showing any affection toward Allen was repugnant.

Allen looked helplessly at the children. They pouted and looked back with hopeful eyes that made Allen want to kick himself.

"You… can call me beansprout," Allen sighed.

"Yay!" they both chorused, dancing around Kanda and Allen. "Beansprout-nanny! Beansprout-nanny!"

Kanda smirked in a self-satisfied way that made Allen want to stick his tongue out childishly.

_Damn you, Kanda Yu,_ Allen glowered at the man in front of him. _Damn you to hell._

* * *

**Continue?**

**A/N: Love it? Hate it? Like it?**

**Please review!**

**On another note, five virtual cookies if you can guess where Lenalee and Lavi got their cute nicknames from. Kudos and hugs to the people who guess that Lulubell was Lenalee and Lavi's mother. How that works out? That will be explained in the future.**


	5. A Story of Never Ever

**A/N: I am super sorry! Lately inspiration has been hard to come by. Must be that fact that D. gray-man does not include a lot of Yullen moments because Kanda is supposedly dead. I refuse to believe that, of course. On the other hand, the newest chapter of D. gray-man was just so CUTE! Man, I love little Allen. He's so adorable. Hoshino-sensei really outdid herself with this cute chapter. Now I'm waiting for Kanda's return. I know he's going to come back in some kickass way and nothing could convince me otherwise! **

**So sit back and enjoy this new chapter. I have no beta so please tell me if this has any grammar or spelling mistakes and I'll fix them.  
**

**Disclaimer: Kanda had not appeared in the recent chapters of D. gray man. So no, I don't own.**

Chapter 5: A Story of Never Ever

Miranda Lotto was a nervous sort of woman. She was quiet and shy, and did not speak unless she was spoken to. Small things that normally wouldn't startle other people would send her into a state of fright.

She was also not good at keeping jobs. In her experience, she could honestly say that she had worked in every field imaginable from shopkeeper at an antique store to assistant nurse for a clinic that dealt with surgeries (and what a nightmare that turned out to be). So when she heard of a job as the personal secretary for the Kanda Yu of Mugen Co., the world's leading company in electronics, she smiled and set down the application, knowing that she did not have the skills nor the nerves to work at such a high level company.

That was, until she met the Kanda twins. It had been during a shopping trip to the market. She had bumped into the twins (more like they had bowled her over, sending her and her groceries tumbling to the ground). Their father had rushed over, breathless from chasing after his kids. She had never seen such polite and adorable children, and she thanked them with a smile when they helped her pick up the groceries.

The children insisted that their new friend go out with them for lunch. Miranda could tell that their father doted on them because he obeyed and cordially invited her to lunch. She wanted to decline but the twins were adamant and tugged on her dress, pleading with puppy dog eyes until she gave in. Though he seemed not to care about her and only initiated conversation when the twins asked him to, Kanda insisted on paying for her lunch and even went so far as to drop her off at her apartment.

After bidding them good day and going on her merry way, she received a call the next day asking her to come in for an interview for Mugen Co. She didn't know how Kanda knew she didn't have a job or how he knew her number but she was more than happy to come in. The interview was standard and with her background, she was not lacking in experience. To her infinite surprise, she was hired right on the spot.

Her boss, Kanda Yu, was a quiet person and did not speak unless he needed something done and that suited her quite well. She was not a talkative person herself and learned to read what he wanted from his facial expressions and his habits. She had grown used to his demands and what he expected during work. Throughout her stay, she learned of the absence of the mother (though she didn't want to ask why) and the nannies the twins went through like breakfast cereal. Occasionally, Lenalee and Lavi would come in and Kanda would grudgingly ask her to watch over them for the day while he searched for another nanny. She didn't mind, really she didn't, and had prepared small toys for them play with while their father worked.

And in her four years of working at Mugen Co., she had never seen Kanda smile at anyone except his children. In fact, she had never seen any other emotion other than the professionalism required for work. He did not get furious at workers when they failed in their tasks, merely sending them back to their work with a stern warning or if it was severe, firing them. When pretty assistants walked passed him casting him flirtatious looks, he did not glance up or show any sign of noticing them. When sales in his company went up phenomenally, he merely nodded in recognition and continued with his work. It baffled Miranda that such a caring father could not feel for anything or anyone else. She supposed it had to be that any emotion he stored up in his heart, he gave to his children.

Until, Allen Walker came. Miranda had assumed he was like the other nannies after meeting him. Marian Cross, the inventor of most of their technology, had come in one morning and smirked at her boss in such an imperious manner, inquiring on his young apprentice and how he was doing as a nanny. Miranda did not mean to eavesdrop but the next thing would shock her enough to send her sprawling to the ground.

Kanda grimaced, blatant annoyance etched on his face at the mere mention of the name. His dark eyes sparked with a flame that Miranda had never seen on her boss and it was breath-taking. She continued to watch as the annoyance morphed into a sort of reluctant respect for the new nanny and then back into the mask that she knew so well when Marian Cross held out his hand, expecting. Marian Cross had laughed heartily and left with Allen Walker's paycheck in hand.

It was brief; less than five minutes and yet, Miranda felt that she learned more about Kanda Yu in those five minutes than she had in the four years. And then a question sprang into her mind: who was Allen Walker to Kanda Yu?

* * *

Allen flopped back into his bed, spread out his arms, and groaned. He was tired and it wasn't even a week yet. He stared dully at the arched fabric of his four poster bed. It was a deep red, he noted distractedly.

Allen turned, curling into himself and into his warm bed.

Kanda had sent him glares throughout the entire lunch break when the twins told him why they were here and why Lenalee and Lavi where so adamant in forcing him to finish his lunch. It was the most awkward yet interesting lunch he had in his life and while he tried to match every one of Kanda's glares with his own, he was busy shoveling his own meal down. He turned slightly red. At the sight of his enormous portion of food, Kanda had raised an eyebrow sending Allen into a series of sputters and blushes. Lenalee and Lavi giggled as their father waved him off and then proceeded to tease him and call him a glutton and a black hole. Allen had smartly retorted by reminding the twins that their father hadn't finished his lunch yet which sent their focus back on their father.

Allen silently snickered between bites as the twins had watched Kanda with rapt attention, making sure he ate every last bite of his lunch. Kanda was more than mildly annoyed at the end of it but he didn't voice it out. After lunch, the children helped him repack everything and Kanda suggested they should show their new nanny around the building.

They had spent the rest of the day running around the building. Lenalee wanted to show him the kitchens and the testing rooms where they had all the new games and computers. Lavi wanted to show him all his favorite hiding spots. No one seemed distracted by the fact that two children were loose in the building. In fact, they seemed to welcome them with bright smiles.

Allen smiled, silver eyes deeper than the midst of a storm. Today had been fun, more fun than anything he had been to in a long time. He could get used to this and he could grow to love the children. And maybe, he could try to be friends with his fickle boss. Allen chuckled at the thought. Hell would freeze over before Kanda would try to be friendly to him.

"Mister Walker?" Marie interrupted his musings.

He jumped abruptly, startled by the sudden call. "Y-Yes?"

"I'm sorry, but the cook has left for the weekend," Marie began, apologetic, "Usually, I take the children to a restaurant to eat but an urgent call has come up and I must leave for the evening. I would call the Master Kanda but he's busy at the moment."

Allen grinned in understanding. "It's fine," he got up from his bed and stretched. "I'm pretty adept in the kitchen. I think we'll be fine for one evening. You go ahead and I'll tell Kanda when he gets home."

"Thank you, Mister Walker," Marie said. "I'll be taking my leave now."

"Good day," Allen nodded and waved.

He bowed and left the room. At the same time, the twins rushed in. Lenalee looked breathless, her overall straps falling passed her shoulders. Lavi looked no better, cheeks tinged a deep pink and his eyes bright. Allen watched as they babbled among themselves, apparently deciding upon a game.

"Allen!" Lenalee held up a ball. "Come play with us!"

"Yeah, we want to play!" Lavi insisted.

Allen groaned but managed a small smile. "Sure but we're on our own today and that means I'll need your help making dinner."

"We're not going outside to eat?" Lenalee asked, confused. Allen shook his head; he didn't know how to drive and Marie was gone.

"Oh! Then can we have pancakes for dinner?" Lavi asked hopefully. Allen laughed and ruffled Lavi's hair affectionately.

"No, pancakes are for breakfast," Allen explained gently, noting his frown, "But we'll make something special for dessert."

"Okay!" Lavi grinned, brightening up considerably. "Something super duper special for Yu-papa!"

"Sure," Allen grinned right back.

Lenalee clutched Allen's arm, his scarred one and pulled Allen forward. Allen's breath hitched but Lenalee didn't notice. She held onto his gloved hand and laughed, a pure joyful sound that made Allen also want to laugh.

Yes, he could live with this.

* * *

When Kanda returned, he felt that something was Off. There was an odd but welcome smell permeating the house and Marie had not come to welcome him. Most important of all, his children were not running up to greet him like they usually did. He warily dropped his keys into the tray and stalked toward the kitchen.

The scene before him was warm, he realized with surprise. Allen stood in front of the stove, in the midst of cooking something. Lenalee and Lavi crowded around him, matching in their little aprons and sitting on the counter. They stared avidly at Allen, holding cans of seasoning ready. Occasionally Allen would hold out his hand to one of the twins and they would hand him an ingredient with much enthusiasm and pride.

It was Lavi and Lenalee who noticed him first. Violet and emerald eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Welcome home, Yu-papa!" "Welcome home, Daddy!"

Allen turned and Kanda sucked in a breath. A beautiful smile, one filled with more happiness than he had seen before, and monochrome eyes, as endless as a storm. Momentarily, he stopped and wondered what had happened in such a short amount of time for the beansprout to be that content.

"Oh," Allen grinned. "Welcome back, Kanda!"

Allen turned to the twins, gently helping them down one by one. Kanda scooped both of his children into his arms and kissed their supple cheeks.

"I'm home," Kanda greeted, his voice low and quiet.

"You're just in time," Allen commented, deftly pulling a large serving plate from the cabinets. He scooped out the food: some type of pasta. It smelled delicious.

"You cooked," Kanda noted, unable to keep a hint of curiosity out of his voice.

"Yes," Allen replied as if daring him to make a nasty sort of comment. Silver eyes challenged him and he flared at the thought. "I did."

"We helped too!" Lavi puffed up his chest proudly.

"We helped make dessert too!" Lenalee added in. Kanda stared at Allen who jerked a thumb at the oven.

"Chocolate lava cakes," Allen answered with a grin.

"One is not sweet," Lavi explained excitedly, "Just like you like it, Yu-papa!"

"It's bitter chocolate!" Lenalee completed.

"Bittersweet chocolate," Allen corrected for her.

"Can't wait," Kanda grinned, letting both of his children down so they could grab plates. Allen panicked as they grabbed more than they could hold. He caught Lenalee as she stumbled and snatched the white plates before they shattered on the floor. Her face crinkled as if she were about to burst into tears. Allen knelt down until they were face to face and put a comforting hand on her hair. They exchanged quiet words before he handed her one plate.

"This way you won't fall," Allen smiled and sent her off. She nodded and carefully balanced the plate in her hands. Her violet eyes furrowed in concentration as she walked to Kanda who thanked her and put the plate on the table. She beamed at him, proud that she had completed her mission and scurried back to take another plate.

It was then that Kanda realized Allen had slipped quietly into their family, connected himself so deeply that there was no chance of him ever leaving. Damn, it was only two days but seeing his children happy with someone other than him, it was so rare. Watching as Allen helped an excited Lavi into his chair, Kanda thought that might not be such a bad thing after all.

* * *

Kanda had been reading over the new proposal for their golem phone tech as his children nestled next to Allen's side. They were watching a television show, something about guardian spirits and a scientist who broke out into hives whenever he was embarrassed. Kanda could see them fighting exhaustion and Allen seemed to notice too. They seemed determined to stay awake with Allen and every so often, they would poke each other if one of them seemed to doze off.

"Boy, I'm tired," Allen mock-yawned, "Time for bed!"

Kanda set down his laptop. Allen got off the sofa and offered his arms to Lenalee to carry her off to bed. Lavi hopped into Kanda's arms and they waited for her to do the same but she remained on the couch. She shook her head when Allen stepped down to pick her up.

Allen frowned, confusion written on his face.

"What is it, little one?" Kanda asked softly, smoothing down her hair and kneeling down. "Aren't you sleepy?"

Lenalee nodded lethargically but she looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I-I want to sleep with Allen!" Lenalee burst out, her cheeks stained bright pink and her little hands clutching the edges of her dress.

_Oh no._ Allen felt his stomach drop and slid a glance at Kanda. Both Lavi and Kanda stared at her with surprise on their faces. Normally, Lavi would be the one to make all the decisions and Lenalee would follow along. Kanda turned to him sharply, eyes clearly commanding him to _fix this_. Allen shrugged his shoulders and held his hands up. Luckily, Lavi managed to save Allen the trouble.

"Yeah!" Lavi nodded after a split second. He squirmed in Kanda's arms until he let him go. Lavi rushed to Allen and hugged him around his knees. "I want to sleep with beansprout nanny too!"

Lenalee looked visibly reassured when her twin agreed with her. She smiled brightly all traces of sleep gone from her face.

"Sleepover!" she exclaimed, twinkles lighting up in her violet eyes.

Before Allen could intervene, they burst into a flood of sleepover plans and skipped in circles around him, pausing occasionally to ask him about things like what story they should read and if they would be able to have milk and cookies before bed. Allen didn't notice and instead chose to watch Kanda who looked more annoyed with each passing minute.

Allen inched away as veins started popping and Kanda's face became notable red. He dimly pondered over the safety of his internal organs.

"You are not allowed to sleep with your nanny!" Kanda shouted, his voice echoing across the large arc of the ceiling. The twins stopped mid-skip, staring at their father with wide eyes. Never before had Kanda denied them anything and Allen could tell that the twins were just as shocked as he was.

"Unless I'm invited too," Kanda sighed in submission. He turned to glare at Allen who gulped and backed away slowly.

"Yay!" Lavi cheered. "Sleepover with Yu-papa and beansprout nanny!"

"I'm gonna get my favorite pillow!" Lenalee proclaimed, dashing into their room with Lavi.

"I'll go bring a mattress," Kanda groaned before shooting Allen another glare that could have killed. Again, Allen held up his hands and shrugged his shoulders. There was no way this was his fault.

In a flurry of sleeping arrangements, Kanda and Allen had managed to move away all of the furniture in the living room so that there was a wide empty space where they put the mattresses. Allen thought that one mattress was plenty of room to fit four people, two of which were under four feet but Kanda wanted as much space as he could from Allen and well, Allen wasn't complaining about that either. After a tiring day, he just wanted sleep.

Allen fluffed down the bedding, smiling softly at Lenalee when she toddled over with another armful of pillows piled so high that he couldn't see her face over it.

"Thank you," he smiled, taking the load off her hands and spreading out the pillows. Their bed was a motley assortment of green, violet, and blue pillows and blankets of various prints and colors. On one side of the bed, Lavi had pulled Kanda's dark blue comforter and on the other side, he had added his own blanket printed with golden golems. Allen had taken the white quilt in his room and set it down next to Lenalee's own purple one. The whole scene was endearing.

Allen flopped himself on the mattress, moaning in delight at the sheer softness of their makeshift bed. His bed back home was never this comfy. Lost in his mattress-induced daze, he did not notice Kanda staring at him with wide eyes and a tint of red dusting his cheeks.

He did not have long to enjoy his new bed as Lenalee and Lavi pounced on him, burrowing into his chest and tugging on his shirt insistently. He let out a yelp while Kanda smirked, enjoying his pain.

"Story time! Story time!" Lavi and Lenalee chanted. Their faces lit up with the prospect of a story from their favorite nanny.

"Alright," Allen sighed tiredly as the twins let him up. Even Kanda looked worn out but in a more dignified air than Allen. He sat cross-legged next to Allen as Lenalee climbed into his lap and settled herself there comfortably. Lavi took his place in Kanda's lap and they sat, facing each other. Allen exhaled, a deep breath that tickled Lenalee's ears. She giggled but patted his arms, urging him to start.

"Once upon a time," Allen began and then stopped abruptly. He didn't know any good stories off the top of his head and he scrambled his brain for an idea. "There was a clown. But he wasn't an ordinary clown."

"Ooh!" Lavi interjected, raising up his hands. "Can he be a warrior? And he'll kick monster butt! And he's a king!"

_That's a rather odd combination of requests, _Allen thought but if they added to his failing story then he wasn't about to deny the small child.

"Okay…" Allen murmured, weaving the information into his story. "Let's call him Crown Clown so he'll be a king that defeats monsters. Anyway, Crown Clown had been abandoned by his master at a very young age and was left to fend for himself in a world full of monsters. But he had a superpower. He could bring salvation to these monsters by slaying them with his arm."

"His arm?" Lenalee asked incredulously, her violet eyes going wide. Her eyes glanced at his own mottled arm and he smiled at her. She nodded, completely absorbed into his tale.

"Yes, his arm changed into a sword and he could use that to defeat the monsters," Allen explained.

"Cool!" Lavi grinned. "And he has a cape! And a mask! Like a superhero!"

"Oh!" Lenalee piped up. "And he is leader of superheroes! Make him a leader!"

Allen chuckled but acquiesced. "Sure. And one day, he joined a group of demon-slaying superheroes just like him. Each person had a different superpower to defeat the demons. One could-"

"One could fly, like a butterfly!" Lenalee helpfully put in.

"And one had a hammer that could shoot fire!" Lavi added, making whooshing sounds and swinging his little arms in a pantomime of a hammer.

"And one could wield a sword that could slay demons," Kanda said, almost quiet. Allen jumped and turned his head to Kanda so fast that he thought he would get whiplash. Kanda stared at him, his arms holding Lavi but his eyes held an unreadable gaze that made Allen squirm.

"Go on," Kanda said, a slight smirk on his lips. Heat curled against Allen's cheeks but he ignored it.

Allen nodded. "And they formed a team even though the swordsman and the clown did not get along well."

"Eh?" Lenalee asked, put out by the thought. "Why not?"

"Because the clown was such a moyashi," Kanda smirked, converting back to his native language. Allen twitched at the insult and glowered at Kanda.

"What's a m-moy… eshi?" Lenalee asked, unaware that she had asked this question earlier today. She wrinkled her nose as she tried to pronounce the unfamiliar word.

"It's your nanny," Kanda replied smoothly.

"Well, that was because the swordsman was a hypocrite," Allen countered. Kanda bristled and would have lunged at him if he didn't have a child in his lap.

"Who's a hypocrite?" Kanda snapped.

"What's a hypocrite?" Lavi asked at the same time. Kanda turned to stare at his son, and then shot a nasty glare in Allen's direction.

"You see," Allen whispered conspiratorially to the children, "The clown had a curse on his eye. His father had cursed him so that he was able to see the monsters even though they were disguised as humans."

"That's not a curse!" Lavi giggled. "That's a superpower."

"But he has to see the icky demons," Lenalee stuck out her tongue. "That would be gross."

"And the swordsman was a hypocrite because he hated the clown for the curse when secretly," Allen lowered his voice to a stage whisper, causing Lenalee and Lavi to lean in. Kanda had moved closer to him too. "The swordsman had a curse too."

"No!" Lavi shouted in dismay.

"Yes!" Allen played along, a grin working on his face. His silver eyes darted around the room and then rested on the lotus hourglass on the mantle. "The swordsman had a mark on his chest that drained away his… um, superpowers every time he got hurt. His curse automatically healed him but he gave up a little of his superpowers in return. And to keep track of it, he had an hourglass."

Kanda raised his eyebrows. Allen noticed his eyes go to the same hourglass that he had drawn his inspiration from.

"And they would go on missions and fight monsters and save the world," Allen continued. "On one mission they had to save a doll that had lived in a forgotten city for hundreds of years. She was a singing doll who could sing the most beautiful lullaby you have ever heard."

"Make them fall in love," Lenalee said, violet eyes beginning to droop.

"What?" Allen asked, fleetingly stupefied.

"The clown and the swordsman," Lavi supplied helpfully, green eyes also beginning to droop.

Allen choked and slid a glance at Kanda who had also stiffened.

"Alright," Allen agreed. His voice dropped to a whisper when he noticed that the children were almost asleep. "And when the clown realized that the swordsman had a curse just like him he realized that maybe, they were the same and they could love one another."

Allen stopped, listening intently for their soft breathing. Kanda nodded and gently tucked Lavi into bed. Allen lifted Lenalee from his lap and maneuvered her next to her twin. Allen yawned, truly tired from today and slipped under the covers.

"Go to sleep beansprout," Kanda said. Allen nodded out like a light as Kanda slipped the covers over Lenalee.

* * *

The house was dark and quiet when Allen startled awake. Sleep-kissed silver eyes searched for a clock or something to tell him what time it was. Heavy curtains covered the windows, blocking out any type of light. And then he heard a distant tapping sound. He peered over to the other side of the bed and saw that Kanda was not there.

_This is odd, _Allen thought. He peered down at his arm and saw that Lenalee had rolled onto it during the night. Gently, he slid out his arm and pulled the covers back on her prone form.

Allen quietly tip-toed through the mansion. It was difficult without any light to lead him and the marble floor was cold against Allen's bare feet. Twice, he found himself stumbling over the leg of a chair and a table with a candlestick holder on it. His navigation was slow but he finally made his way to a relatively plain door, open slightly ajar.

It was a small room compared to all the other rooms in Kanda's mansion but every inch of it was covered in papers and folders covered what seemed to be a sofa in one corner. In the middle of it all was a large wooden desk with a lone figure poring over the dull blue glow of a laptop. Allen was mildly surprised; he had the impression that Kanda was a perfectionist in every way but this room put his Master's office with its collecting piles of debts to shame.

"What the hell do you want, beansprout?" Kanda asked tiredly, glancing at him for a second before returning his gaze to his laptop.

Allen flinched in annoyance at the nickname but didn't say anything. It astounded Allen how Kanda could be tired yet still such a bastard. It had to be some type of skill.

"Why are you up so late?" Allen asked awkwardly, trying to make conversation.

"Thanks to that stupid bitch and her interruption, and you bringing in the children I wasn't able to finish today's work," Kanda growled. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his temples. Raven strands fell across high cheekbones only to be brushed back.

Allen didn't say anything, only watching Kanda from his seat by the door.

"Well?" Kanda bit out. "Aren't you going to question me?"

Allen shook his head. He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "It's not any of my business. If you don't want to talk about it, then I'm not going to pry."

"Then get out," Kanda hissed, turning back to his laptop.

"You feel like you need company," Allen pointed out.

"I don't," Kanda replied abruptly, cutting him short. "So get out."

Allen didn't move and Kanda didn't seem to care anymore or he was too busy to bother. The only sound in the room was the quick successions of taps from the keys on Kanda's computer. Allen quickly grew bored from sitting by the door way and quietly padded across to the nearest pile of documents.

He picked up one of them, scanning them over. To his surprise, he recognized this one. Allen gradually made his way through the pile, putting the papers in a stack and clearing away unused folders until he had unearthed a small drawer that had been next to the sofa. A close inspection of the drawer told Allen that it was filled more papers, hastily shoved in there.

"What happened to not prying?" Kanda questioned, his tone more inquisitive than angry.

"I'm not," Allen retorted lightly, "I'm helping you. I'll have you know that I was also the one who did the paper work and picked up after Master Cross with his patents and his… other expenditures." Allen cringed when the debts floated into his mind. "I'm fairly adept at this."

Kanda didn't say anything. He looked over his cabinets and winced; they were really cluttered and he knew Marie didn't touch them because he didn't know want to disturb whatever order Kanda had them in. Not that they were in any order. At work, he had Miranda deal with the organization but since he rarely did work at home, he hadn't bothered with filing papers. It was a job below him and one he avoided like the plague.

"If you'd like, I could help you with some of this paperwork," Allen murmured, reading through one of them. "It seems like low-level work and I wouldn't mind helping when Lenalee and Lavi take their naps."

Kanda stared at him with an unreadable look in his eyes before swiveling back to his computer.

"I'm not paying you extra, beansprout," Kanda said shortly. Allen chuckled.

"I didn't think you would." Allen took up a pile of papers and began sorting through them.

"Any office supplies you need are in that closet over there," Kanda muttered, pointing in the vague direction with his pen. Allen made an affirmative sound but did not disturb Kanda.

Though Kanda didn't say it, he was grateful for Allen's help.

* * *

Lenalee had rolled in her sleep again, Allen thought when he woke up with a weight pressing against his chest. The small girl had somehow found her way onto his chest and was snoring soundly , her head tucked under his chin. It was cute if not somewhat unexpected.

Allen glimpsed at the room. He could distinctly make out the furniture pushed up against the walls, an orange glow outlining their shape. It was early morning, Allen guessed. He was back on their makeshift bed which made him wonder about how he got there in the first place.

He could remember penning a few reminders on documents that would be filed away later and then he was back here. He peered down at Lenalee and noticed that she was sleeping on something. Allen picked a corner (which turned out to be a sleeve) and held it to his cheek. It was warm and make of pure white cashmere. He inhaled the familiar scent of sandalwood and pine.

A small smile crept its way onto his lips when he thought of whom the jacket belonged to.

* * *

**A/N: TBC? Please review.**


End file.
